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How to paint Blood Angels red armour

With Blood Angles here to stay, I figured I would share my process for painting red. It can be a difficult color to master for some folks and this might help show that it can be easy to do with relatively little work.

There are lots of different ways to paint red... each with its own merits. Ultimately, you've got to go with what you like that gives you the results you want in the time you're willing to spend on painting. I will say that I'm not using all GW colors in this process. I tend to use whatever works and looks best to me, so I end up mixing and matching colors and paints from different ranges.

The basecoat is done with Moroccan Red. It's fairly opaque and usually requires just one coat with some touch ups in places I missed the first time.

After that, it's a series of washes to create the shadows.
First wash: Baal Red at full strength
Second wash: Devlan Mud thinned (half wash, half water)
Third wash: Baal Red at full strength

The highlights are done with Bright Red. The reason this color works so well is because it's a semi-transparent color. That means it will take two or three passes to get the actual color on the model. This allows me to blend the highlights into the model without any problems.
I just start painting where I want the highlight to be the strongest and continue to feather the paint out from that. Sometimes I'll add just a tiny bit of water when I'm blending it out so the transition is super smooth.

And here he is with the black areas blocked out. This gives you a better feel for how the highlights stand out on the model since it can look a little dark overall with no other parts painted for contrast.

And an optional step. WHen it came time to paint the Chaplain model, I decided to try adding a thin line highlight to the edges of his armour with the Terra Cotta color. I only did it in a few key places (tops of his shoulder pads, his left knee and his helmet) to add some emphasis on key areas.

I've always struggled with highlighting red. It always seemed like the highlight came out too pink or too orange and never looked "right." By using a light orangish-brown color (instead of just orange) , I can get just the right highlight color and not have it look out of place.

Like I said before, knowing there is more than one way to paint red, I thought I would ask fellow blogger Jawaballs for his advice when it comes to this color since he's been painting Blood Angels for quite a while now. Here's what he had for me...

Image from The Blood Angels and Warhammer 40k

The best instant advice I can give for painting red is not to try to do it all at once. It is tempting to try to lather it on and get that rich red to cover all in one swipe. With red, you need to apply it in thin layers over time.
But even more importantly, is once you have applied a brush stroke, DO NOT go back over it with 2nd and 3rd strokes as it dries. Use one confident stroke and drag the color across the armor plate. Going back will just create uneven brush strokes in the drying paint. This will also allow control.
By doing this, the paint will natrually thin out as your brush stroke makes it's way down the armor plate. If you are good, you can plan for this, and leave some natural shading closer to the joints and recessed areas. - Jawaballs

Hopefully this shows you guys that it is easy enough to get your Blood Angels or successor chapter painted up and you don't need to be afraid of "red" when it comes to painting. I'd like to see some finished Blood Angel armies out there in a few months and not just people telling me "they can't paint red."

If you've made it to the end, go back to the top and look at the second pic... While it's not "red," I painted the tread on the bottom of the terminator's boot. How's that for attention to detail?

Hey Ron, I have an article going up today on premixing paint and a video attached to it. It is step one of a series I will be putting up in support of your article here, and in celebration of my new techniques and painting videos. :) Jawaballs

I'll make a tutorial on painting Blood Angels with Plaid Folkart paints and GW washes one day. My style is quite similar to yours but Instead of devlan mud I just use watered down Black paint to blackline the cracks.

I like your reds a lot, but I think the shades/cracks could use some stronger contrast, a darker color. Maybe use a mix of Devlan Mud and Badab Black instead?

Charles: You could change out the colors to whatever you want and I bet it would still work. If you spray the basecoat, that shouldn't be any different than brushing it on really.

tahrikmili: I go back with Badab Black and hit key recessed areas for some greater contrast, but for consistency sake, I haven't really worked on that aspect with these models. It does make a difference though in making your shadows realy sink back.

I'm still learning how to use the darkest shadows and brightest highlights in certain areas to draw attention to specific parts of a model.

Thanks, Ron. This is a very timely article, as I'm working on a project involving red. I've been reading up on how Master Darksoul painted the red in his Skulltaker. Between this and that article, there's much inspiration.

A simple recipe I've been using for darker red (Red Templars, Flesh Tearers...)

Start with a base coat of Red Gore over White primer.Wash with an even mix of Devlan Mud, Badab Black and Baal Red.When dry, wash with thinned Devlan Mud.Higlight with a mix of Red Gore adding Dwarf Flesh until it's 50%-50%.Last optional higlights with a mix of Red Gore, Dwarf Flesh and Bleached Bone.

If you paint red it is worth looking for tutorials and tips for Khador from WARMACHINE. I always though that there are many that can give their red armor a cool look. Also worth looking into their forums (privateer press) for painting tips.

Pootank: Hmmm... that's a tough one since I don't know the direct GW match for the paints. I've had good luck with a light grey primer, GW Mechrite red for the base color and then a bright red color (I don't know the GW equivalent) as the highlight.You can shade with any color. Try staying away from Devlan Mud and Badab Black to keep your shadow colors from turning flat.

Thanks! Red is one of those colors you really do need to try a few approaches to until you find the one way you like best. There are so many subtle ways to do it... each one creating a slightly different end result.

I was asked the other day how I painted the gold on the crozius for the Dark Vengeance Chaplain I posted. I've actually got a couple di...

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